


soft embers

by wolfchann



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prompt Fic, it's both canon compliant and not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28821468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfchann/pseuds/wolfchann
Summary: Glimpses into the lives of Jason and Nico, together.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Jason Grace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	soft embers

**Author's Note:**

> pjo/joo fanfics in 2021? you fuckin' bet.
> 
> anyways! this is just a collection of short drabbles/fics that are based on a list of prompts i found on tumblr. [here is](https://sierrascribbles.tumblr.com/post/636993785699680257/affection-prompts) the list! these fics won't be too long, but. i apologize if i get a little out of hand. i like introspect a lot, sometimes. i won't do every single prompt, but i'll do most of them, i think.
> 
> enjoy!

Personal grooming isn’t something that Nico was necessarily known for. It’s not that the boy _didn’t_ bathe or shower or take care of himself, but he _had_ lived a rather hobo-like lifestyle for a better part of his life. He still, technically, does; going back and forth between the camps and the Underworld can cause for not a lot of time to do things yourself, or really take care of yourself.

Still, the Underworld isn’t so shabby when it comes to hygiene. Persephone always made sure Nico was well showered and dressed, cooing over him as she would help him wash or brush his hair. (She was a nice stepmother, Nico came to discover. She was nothing compared to his own mother, of course, but she was nice enough. Nico didn’t let it get to him so much.)

“Brother, you look like a massive disaster,” Hazel tells him, nose scrunching up.

Nico furrows his eyebrows, letting out a bit of a huff. “I don’t look any different than I normally do…”

“Hazel’s right, dude,” Jason speaks up from beside him. Nico glowers at him, eyebrows knitting together tighter.

“Be quiet, Grace.” he mutters, running a hand through his hair.

Hazel sighs, shaking her head. “How long has it been since you’ve taken a shower?”

“Not that long,” Nico replies, “Honestly. I took one before I came here from the Underworld, but… well, I guess shadow travel and walking around in the wilderness does make you a bit… worse for wear.”

“You could say that again.” Jason says under his breath.

Nico glares at him again, making a motion with his fingers, before Hazel is gently grabbing his wrist. She tugs him along towards the bathhouse, saying something about cleaning him up. Jason watches them go, an amused smile present on his face. Nico doesn’t put up much of a fight, glancing over his shoulder towards Jason before garnering his attention towards his sister.

He wouldn’t really call it a “spa treatment,” but there’s not much else Nico could use to describe what Hazel had done for him. Hazel simply wanted to spend some time with her brother, knowing it would’ve been hard to do so when Nico isn’t really a fan of her boyfriend, so she opted to help him freshen up. Thankfully, she didn’t join him in his shower or make him take a bath with her. She helped him shave, though; only his legs, as nothing else really needed it. She clipped his nails, chastising him about biting them too often, and painted them black. Hazel had made sure there were clean clothes for him, telling Nico to suck it up when he complained about not being able to wear his bomber jacket. (It’s dirty, and Hazel tells him it’s for his own good. She is going to do his laundry.)

When all is said and done, Hazel brings Nico back out of the bathhouse, bright smile on her face. Nico doesn’t look _that_ different, but he does look nicer than before. Clean, fresh; he even has a small smile on his face, as well, unable to keep it to himself. His sister is so proud of herself for helping him, it warms his heart.

“There, you look so handsome!” Hazel coos over Nico softly, using a towel to dry his still damp hair. “Well, not that you didn’t look handsome before, but now you look even _more_ so.”

Nico ducks his head a bit, hiding his reddening cheeks behind some of the towel. “...Thanks.”

Hazel smiles wider, pressing a kiss to Nico’s cheek, before leading him towards the dining hall. “Dinner should be right about now. I hope it’s okay if we wait to brush your hair there…”

Nico shrugs, not minding even if they _don’t_ brush his hair. Bedhead type of styles suit him, he likes to think, but Hazel is pretty adamant on doing it. So, for her sake, he’ll suffer through it.

When they arrive at the dining pavilion, most of the campers are already there, including Jason and Frank. Hazel nearly forgets about Nico the moment she sees her boyfriend, going up to him and leaning up for a kiss. Nico just barely frowns - at first - before the corner of his lips turn up. Beside him, from out of nowhere, Jason chuckles. 

“Why do you have a towel on your head?” he asks.

Nico reaches up and tugs the towel off, letting it fall against the back of his neck and shoulders. “Hazel was going to brush my hair while we were here at dinner, but she’s a little… otherwise preoccupied at the moment. The towel was helping it dry on the way here.” He says, looking up towards Jason.

“I see,” the older boy lets out a bit of a hum, reaching out to run a few fingers through the damp strands of Nico’s hair. “Want me to do it for you then?”

Nico’s face flashes red, before he controls his blush and pushes it down as best he can. “You… want to brush my hair.” he says carefully.

“Sure. I’ve brushed Piper’s and Leo’s plenty of times.” Jason shrugs, pulling his hand away. “I doubt yours will be as unruly as Leo’s. We had three brushes actually break trying to get some of the knots out of those curls.”

Nico shudders at the thought. He chews at the inside of his cheek, glancing over towards Hazel, before lightly gripping at the brush in his hand. He turns towards Jason then and holds it out to him, but he keeps his head down, too embarrassed to actually look at him. “...Fine. But don’t pull too hard or too much, or I’ll punch you.”

Jason smiles in victory, taking the brush. “No worries. I might be all muscly, but I promise I’m gentle.”

Nico gives him a brief quirked eyebrow, before he settles down on one of the benches, sitting very much informally, one leg on either side, the bench between his knees. Jason sits down right behind him; not too close, but not too far. There’s a good amount of distance between them as soon as Jason starts brushing Nico’s hair. Jason’s right; despite his much bigger stature and burly appearance, his motions are gentle and soft. He holds Nico’s hair gently between his fingers, running the comb through it with careful ease.

Nico visibly relaxes in the end, shoulders sagging as they loosen up, and Jason smiles at the result. He goes around Nico’s head carefully, brushing through his hair thoroughly, making sure that there’s no knots or tangles, that it’s nice and dry for him. Jason’s tongue sticks out just slightly in his concentration, until Nico is sitting up straighter, rolling his shoulders, and turning himself to be sitting sideways on the bench.

“Done?” Nico peers up towards Jason, black hair framing his face gracefully.

Jason hums slightly before reaching out with the brush, carefully brushing back Nico’s bangs and the front of his hair for a moment, before setting the brush down on the table beside them. He beams, finally nodding. “There, all done.”

The younger boy takes a glance around them. No one’s eyes are on them, which makes him feel more at ease with what just happened between them, but even if people had been watching them, he wouldn’t have minded all that much. Nico pushes some of his hair behind his ear, smiling small. “Thanks.” he says quietly, glancing up at the other.

Jason shrugs, smiling happily. “Yeah, no problem.”

It’s no real secret that Jason has a crush on Nico; not amongst their friends, at least. Hazel might not necessarily know, but that’s fine. Jason’s not entirely sure how Nico feels about him, at least at the moment. After Cupid, he doesn’t know if Nico’s feelings towards Percy have changed at all, but there’s a part of him that knows feelings can’t change just like that. After all, Jason’s own memories and feelings had been manipulated, and there’s still a part of him that _does_ still like Piper - but their relationship had been fake, forged by Juno within their minds. Jason couldn’t repair a relationship that had been born from something like that. Them breaking up had been for the better, especially now that the two of them had both come to terms with their sexualities.

Small things like this were nice to do, even if Nico only viewed them as platonic for now. Jason could live with that. But his heart swells and bursts when Nico takes his hand, squeezes it gently, and holds onto it under the table for the rest of their dinner.


End file.
